Let’s face it, when it comes to deciding what brand or color of tree shelter or grow tube to use these days, it’s gotten pretty confusing, to say the least!  The majority of grow tube producers in the market today are producing tubes of a green, beige/tan or peach color, and most block out a significant amount of the available sunlight light and blue light to your trees, vines or plants.

Using just about any grow tube will give some kind of benefit to your plant but is usually at the expense of something else. One thing’s for sure, they can also hinder your plant in other ways, plants don’t grow in the dark!  Some manufacturers even state blue light is absorbed or blocked by the walls of their tube and should only be allowed in at the top of the tube for apical direction. If this is so, then why is it that most all research data and most of the growers that we are forechain enough to network with, tell us the same old story!  They gained height in these color tubes but stem or caliper were extremely lacking as usual. The answer is simple, the plant in these color tubes is forced to rely on red and far red light! Most all research data have shown that too much red and far-red cause a plant to become (tall and spindly) which in turn means small biomass as well.

Over the history of tree shelters / grow tubes, lack of sunlight has always been one of the main issues, and cause, of a narrow spindly stem.  While there could certainly be other factors involved, most research data points to sunlight or lack thereof, as one of the main causes. Research data has shown that if using a grow tube and you block more than 40% of the sunlight to your plant biomass will start to diminish. Yes, you do get height growth, but is usually at the expense of caliper and most likely, root mass.

So now you have a tall spindly plant, if it’s a vine it could need considerable time for the biomass to catch up to the height. Unfortunately, you will not be producing the quality or quantity of fruit that you could be, earlier in the game. This is due to the lack of biomass and overall plant development from not using a higher photosynthetically active radiation or (PAR) transmitting grow tube. Fact, “a larger biomass produces a larger fruit”. Not a big concern for staking here because you will be tied off to the cordon.

If it’s a tree, most likely you will have to leave the shelter on it for 3 to 5 years as most tube producers recommend and/or will have to be staked for 2 to 4 years in some cases even 5 years. This is mainly because the plant didn’t get the chance to develop properly. It spent all its energy gaining vertical height trying to get to its main light source at the top of the tube, instead of developing an even root to shoot ratio from the time it was transplanted.  Lack of sunlight and more importantly blue light not being able to penetrate the walls of the grow tube are the main reason for this. You can’t expect to establish a strong, thick-stemmed plant when it has been starved for sunlight for most of its short life.

A thought to ponder, if you had no grow tube on your plant where would the blue and red light come from? Yes, light does come from above, but not only directly above. Plants receive light from all angles, above and the horizon. Some tube manufactures tout that their designs diffuse and scatter light transmission. Any opaque or translucent blockage will diffuse and scatter light transmission. However, no matter how much sunlight you diffuse to scatter that light transmission, the photoreceptors in the plant can’t absorb sunlight that does not exist in the grow tube. It’s a fact, blocked sunlight means less light to your plant.  Most plants want as much sunlight as it can receive in a day. As the sun moves across the sky, the apical bud follows, indicating that a plant receives light from all angles. To insinuate that blue, or the majority of light, should only be allowed at the top of the tube, is grossly misleading.

Stand outside on a clear sunny day, place something that can block the light from directly above your head, is the sun still shining somewhere on you? The wall of a grow tube should allow as much sunlight as possible including blue light, while blocking out some of the harmful UV and heat. Blue-X provides 100% more light and a higher ratio of blue light which is imperative for thick green vegetative growth, hence, larger root mass & stem diameter giving you a larger overall biomass and an even root to shoot ratio at an accelerated growth rate.

Manufacturers today are still producing green tubes!  While at a trade we had one of the largest tube manufactures in the world visited our booth.  We asked them why they still produce green tubes, their answer with a smile, “because they are pleasing to the eye as far as ascetics in the field” was there answer.  All we can say is “WOW”.  Plants don’t absorb green light, they reflect it, and can inhibit growth, making green one of the poorest colors for a grow tube. Most manufacturers aren’t going to argue with sales that stem into 16 to 20 million units per year. Many tube producers are still following suit today simply because of sales, knowing it has little to no benefit for the plant with the exception of browse and herbicide drift. Basically, they are not much more than a tree, vine or plant protector. While Tan, beige, peach, and similar colors are much better than green, they still drastically reduce the amount of available sunlight and blue light to your trees, vines, and plants forcing them to rely on the red and far-red spectrum while starving them for blue light.

“Plants need sunlight”, it’s that simple… Blue light is one of the main drivers of photosynthesis. It stimulates chlorophyll more than any other color. Plants depend on blue light for thick, green vegetative growth.  If your still not convinced please search the web, there is lots of information out there that will stake truth to these claims…